With new focus on sedition law, India poised at juncture

Although it is the world's largest democracy, India
has retained its colonial-era sedition law. But with a national debate ensuing after
the arrest of 25-year-old political cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on the antiquated
sedition charge and others, members of the Indian government have been forced
to do some soul-searching.

Government
ministers formally initiated a review of the law, news accounts reported on September
14. The law, which was introduced by the British in 1870 to guard against
rebellion, states that anyone who
"brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to
excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India" could
face life in prison. The legislation falls under Section 124A of the Indian Penal
Code.

"Many politicians have raised their voice against
the sedition law, in public appearances and through Twitter. I hope they will
do the same in parliament," Trivedi told CPJ.

If convicted, Trivedi could face life imprisonment. The
cartoonist, who was arrested on September 8 but is free on bail, told CPJ that
he has four cases pending in different police stations with charges ranging
from sedition to violation of the Information Technology Act, the National
Emblem Act, and the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act, among others.
Trivedi had criticized corruption on his website, Cartoons Against
Corruption, and published cartoons that mocked national symbols. One
cartoon, for example, depicted India's parliament house as a filthy toilet
bowl.The website was shut down by the government when the cartoons
surfaced last year.

Even while behind bars, Trivedi has spoken out against
the injustice of the charges. In a statement from prison last week, he
said, "If speaking the truth is sedition, then I have indeed committed
sedition. If raising one's voice against injustice is sedition, then I have
committed sedition. If nationalism and the definition of nationalism have
changed, then you could say I have committed sedition."

The cartoonist also told CPJ
that a special investigation team had been appointed to look into why he was
charged with sedition. He said his next court appearance is scheduled for
October 12 at the Mumbai High Court. After being released on bail last week,
Trivedi told journalists, "This fight will continue until 124A is repealed."

Decades ago, Mahatma Gandhi was charged under the sedition
law during his struggle for independence. But critics in recent years have been
silenced by the draconian law as well. In February 2010, journalists Vijay and
Seema Azad were arrested on sedition charges after the police found
"anti-national" literature in their possession. The couple, who had been accused of having links
to Maoists, was finally granted bail after more than two years in prison.

Time
and again, ideas have been conflated with sedition. In late 2010, the charge of sedition was
leveled against notable writer Arundhati Roy for speaking out in support of
Kashmiri independence. In 2008, magazine editor Lenin Kumar Roy was arrested after he blamed
Hindu extremists for targeting minorities in the Kandhamal district.

Speaking of the Trivedi case, Indian journalist
Salil Tripathy wrote: "These are only cartoons, not bombs."

Sumit Galhotra is the research associate for CPJ's Asia program. He served as CPJ's inaugural Steiger Fellow and has worked for CNN International, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch. He has reported from London, India, and Israel and the Occupied Territories, and specializes in human rights and South Asia.